Defeat of Israel and Spiritual Battles 1Samuel 4: 1-11

The Israelites engaged the Philistines in a ferocious war. They went to battle against the Philistines with confidence. They were sure of victory. They were rash, audacious and foolhardy. To their greatest surprise, they were roundly defeated by the Philistines. Four thousand Israelites were slaughtered. This first defeat should have provided the Israelites an opportunity for soul searching- an opportunity to discover the root cause of their defeat. Instead the Israelites requested for the ark of the covenant. When the ark of the covenant arrived in their camp, they rejoiced exultantly. They were overjoyed. Even the Philistines were afraid and dismayed. However, the Philistines summoned courage. They mustered all their determination and strength. The Philistines defeated the Israelites again. Over thirty thousand Israelites were killed. The Israelites were utterly dejected and devastated. Even the ark of the covenant could not save them. The Israelites lost the battles because they were presumptious. They trusted in themselves- their strength and skills. And they were heavily defeated. They requested for the ark of the covenant, without fulfilling their own part of the covenant. They believed that the God they would not serve faithfully will somehow save them because of the ark of the covenant. They not only lost the battles, the ark of the covenant was captured and stolen. Our own battle as Christians is not against the Philistines. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places ( Eph 6:12). It will be presumptious for a Christian to enter battle against principalities and powers without having recourse to God - the Lord of hosts. It is not uncommon to see Christians using sacramentals (e.g. scapular, rosary) as charms or talisman while they make no effort to reform their lives. The sacramentals cannot save those whose hearts are far from God. The sacramentals should rather be the external signs of interior dispostion to grace. If we love God and our neighbour, live a virtuous life, obey God’s commandments, do His will, we can be certain of God’s protection and victory over our spiritual enemies. But if we ignore Him and disobey his laws, we may inadvertently disqualify ourselves from God’s shield. God helps those who help themselves.